TheBaitPhotographer Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 So tonight I arived home from Cabela's excited to try out my cool new do-it molds. This was my first time pouring lead, so I didnt expect too much. I added my lead to my hot pot, let it melt and poured away. The problem I'm running into is that it seems as though the lead is setting up before it drips down into the mold. I can pretty much see it doing this, and when I open the mold there is a small amount of lead in the cavity and not even formed to the hook. The only thing I am thinking is that perhaps the lead is not hot enough, but that also seems a bit odd - when it's melted im guessing it's hot enough to pour. Anyone have anything to offer? I'd appriciate any suggestions. -Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charkins Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 It sounds like your lead is not hot enough. A couple of questions. What kind of lead melting pot are you using? What type of lead are you using? JI am sure we can help you figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassfanpa Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 I remember when I 1st started pouring as well. Are you warming your molds prior to pouring? Or are you pouring into a cold mold? I too live in Pa and not too far from Cabela's. If you are close, I am more than willing to help you out. Try setting your mold on top of your pot as it is warming up to warm the mold, then pour 4 or 5 without hooks so that the mold is warm before you try pouring one with a hook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckdawg Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 I remember when I 1st started pouring as well. Are you warming your molds prior to pouring? Or are you pouring into a cold mold? I too live in Pa and not too far from Cabela's. If you are close, I am more than willing to help you out. Try setting your mold on top of your pot as it is warming up to warm the mold, then pour 4 or 5 without hooks so that the mold is warm before you try pouring one with a hook. Yep. This is a big help. I just started pouring myself a couple weeks ago and it definitely helps to pre-heat the mold by letting it sit on top of the pot for a few minutes. Also I've heard that if you 'smoke' the mold with a candle too, to the point the mold is black with soot, it helps. I haven't had a chance to try this yet though. Obviously you need to make sure you're making a nice even pour, no hitching in the middle of it. I catch myself doing that sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Brad, all the above posts have valid points. What type of lead. Pure soft lead will pour very easy, without problems. Adding candle wax to the lead helps pouring. I use a Lee 10 lb pot, which pours from the bottom. I always tell anyone who pours this. Mold must be hot, lead must be hot. Also, if you are not sure, always, and I mean always pour blank pours until you can see that your jigs are completely formed. Blank pours are pours without the hooks in them. Don't put hooks in the mold until you are sure you are getting good jigs. This will save you a lot of time re-melting bad jigs with hooks in them. Also every mold has its own quirks. Some molds need to be tilted slightly up, down, left or right. Once you find what works, write it down, so next time you can take some of the trial and error out of this. I do not smoke my molds, I have found that with soft lead I don't need to do this. Also if you are pouring tire weight, that lead is hard. You will have problems with it if you don't mix at least 50/50 lead. This is just my opinion.................Ted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaitPhotographer Posted April 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Guys, thanks so much! I did heat the mold first, I held it over the stove until it was hot. I then proceeded to pour and had the same problem. However, I did pour the lead right after the lead had melted, so I'm guessing it was not hot enough. As far as the lead goes.... I could not find lead sold soley for melting, so I purchased several hand fulls of sinkers and melted those assuming that they are pure lead. Am I correct in assuming this? I'm going to try pouring some more tommorow, I'll let you all know how it went. Again guys, thanks so much for the info. This site makes the whole process that much easier. -Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOdowd Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Hey Brad, If you are looking for lead I found my lead at Stamina lures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckdawg Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Guys, thanks so much!I did heat the mold first, I held it over the stove until it was hot. I then proceeded to pour and had the same problem. However, I did pour the lead right after the lead had melted, so I'm guessing it was not hot enough. As far as the lead goes.... I could not find lead sold soley for melting, so I purchased several hand fulls of sinkers and melted those assuming that they are pure lead. Am I correct in assuming this? I'm going to try pouring some more tommorow, I'll let you all know how it went. Again guys, thanks so much for the info. This site makes the whole process that much easier. -Brad JOdowd is right, you can buy it online. Personally I'm lucky enough to work with a packrat. I told him I was interested in pouring my own jigs and needed some lead. He said, "How much you need?" I said three or four pounds. Next day he comes in with 36 pounds!!!! of lead buckshot!!!! LOL Needless to say I'm set for the forseeable future. I forgot about pouring the blanks like cadman said, this helps too. but it does sound like your lead may not be hot enough if everything else isn't working. i usually let it sit for 20-30 minutes after i turn it on. Also if you are close to a Lowes, go to the plumbins section and see if they have any lead flashing. it looks like a small traffic cone but and it's made out of soft lead. the Lowes here has them for 49 cents a piece so you may want to try there. not sure what shipping costs will be if you buy a whole lot online. i also know that bass pro and gander mountain sell lead ingots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel7@mac.com Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 I Smoked All Of My Jigs Over A Candle I Think That Helped, Plus They Come Out Better. You Can Buy Lead On Ebay But I Wonder If It Is Soft Lead Like They Say Or If It Is Just Something That Was Melted Down Like Wheel Weights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Brad, I can't say what kind of lead you have or buy, however, I got 5lbs of lindy weights for free from a guy. They were originally bought from Cabela's. These weights were hard, and I mean hard. All the weights that I've gotten from stores that someone else poured were always hard. You have to turn the heat up, when you pour hard lead or tire weights. Or you can mix pure and hard lead. There is nothing wrong in using tire weights. I don't for several reasons. They are hard to pour, and when you melt tire weights be very careful, they may contain water. Hot lead and water don't mix. If you're going to melt tire weights, melt them in a separate pot, then make ingots out of them, then put them in your pouring pot. I buy my lead from a plumbing store, and I know it's 99.99999% pure. You can tell by scratching it. Soft lead curls when you scratch it with a knife. Hard lead is more brittle. Also go to your dentist. My dentist has small packets that are covered with plastic, which he uses for x-rays. In these packets are pieces of lead. He saves them for me. Also medical lead for x-rays is excellent, for melting. Keep practicing, you will get it figured out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaitPhotographer Posted April 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Guys thanks so much! I'm sure the info will be very helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 I too live in PA and I get soft or pure lead from cabelas, they sell 4lb ingots that melt and pour easily. But even if you are using tire weights or something similar it can still be done. I use a small propane torch and while my lead is melting I heat my mold with it, about 2 min. with the torch and the mold is plenty hot. Next thing I do is pour about 5 or 6 blanks without hooks to see how they come out and if all is well I add the hook. After I add the hook I'll give it a 5 sec. shot with the torch to heat the hook a little and then close the mold and pour. I heat the hooks for the first few jigs then after that I just put the hook in and close the mold for a few seconds and no incomplete pours. If you're like me, and are pouring from a hand held ladle, you have to do it pretty quick, it takes some practice but you'll get the hang of it in no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaitPhotographer Posted April 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Guys, poured 40 tube heads this afternoon, came out beautifully! Thanks so much for the input. I ended up heating the mold and letting the lead heat a bit longer then I had been before. Again, thanks a lot guys. -Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 If you know any doctors, nurses, or lab techs. you might be able to get the lead containers used to transport radio active medicine. I got about 100 lbs free. I also got the lead lining from an Xray room. I now have around 300 lbs of lead at 0 cost waiting to become jigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaitPhotographer Posted April 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Guys, thanks to all of your input I was able to pour these: Tell me what you think! -Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckdawg Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 look great! glad things worked out for ya!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Very nice Brad, now you can join all the rest of us loosing countless hours of sleep, trying different ideas, along with different paint schemes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel7@mac.com Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 i just baught an arky from do-it and the 1/4 won't fill. i'm startin to get pi!@# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilcraw Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 The best lead for making jigs etc. is a 70/30 mix it is harder but holds paint better and will not discolor after sitting for a while and the spurs will break so much cleaner. The 30 part is tin and 70% pure lead. Some of the best lead to get is OLD drain piping out of REALLY OLD home when the tear them down, it is about 2 inch in diameter and hollow you can cut it really nice with a hacket in nice little chunks. Another source is wheel weights and most tire places will sell you all you want for scrap price if you are lucky they will just give it to ya, it is dirty but all the metal and dirt will float to the top and easiely skim off. Sinkers are really costly to buy just to melt down check with your local scrap yards they will sell you scrap lead at scrap price which last time I bought any was about 10 cents a pound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ominousone Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Lead scrap price is really high... I think it was more like 30-50 cents a pound the last time I bought it. I couldn't believe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Reid Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Yeah the price of lead has just kept going up for the last year. Currently it is around US89c lb or not that far below $2000 tonne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 like stock. sell gold by lead. yep Im in the right direction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkeylegs1246 Posted April 25, 2008 Report Share Posted April 25, 2008 Brad, Those will work nicely. The wrinkles indicate that something minor is still there. My guesses are that you did not warm the hooks before casting. Wrinkles indicate that the lead is cooling to soon or not hot enough. Frosted appearance indicates that lead may be too hot. Lead shrinkage and voids may indicate that the lead was much too hot. A good pour is almost a mirror finish w/o any voids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
